


Cry Little Jedi

by Darkflame1808



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Guilt, Hurt Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hurt/Comfort, Obi-Wan Kenobi Gets a Hug, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a Mess, Protective Plo Koon, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Suicidal Thoughts, a little ooc but it's kinda my hc for obi-wan soooo, anakin hurted him, no beta we die like men, no good reason for guilt, please help him, some please help this poor sad boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:40:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23459503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkflame1808/pseuds/Darkflame1808
Summary: A follow up to antheiasilva's amazing work 'The Wrong Jedi'. Plo Koon encounters an angry Skywalker in the halls of the Temple. But where is Kenobi to chase him down?
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Plo Koon
Comments: 58
Kudos: 721





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [antheiasilva](https://archiveofourown.org/users/antheiasilva/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Wrong Jedi](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21587449) by [antheiasilva](https://archiveofourown.org/users/antheiasilva/pseuds/antheiasilva). 



> You need to have read 'The Wrong Jedi' for this to make any sort of sense. This is a direct follow up. It's an amazing story and so so well written, I was crying. 
> 
> Anyway, I don't own Star Wars (which is probably a good thing or else these characters would be screwed haha), all rights go to Lucas Film and all the people behind this amazing franchise.
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

The Temple was quiet at this time of the day. Padawans were with their masters, younglings resting after a day of learning, probably having dinner together as a group in the Dining Hall. His footsteps echoed through the halls, bouncing back at him with each he took. The sunset was ending, night falling across Coruscant, though activity never ceased across the planet. 

A wave of anger slammed into him from the Force. Anger and… resentment? Hate? Who was harbouring such feelings here in the Temple?

He got his answer.

Anakin Skywalker stormed past him, not even deigning to give him a passing wave or any sort of acknowledgement. Plo knew the young man had troubles with the Council on the best of days, but he was usually friendly towards the Kel Door master. Though, after the fiasco that was Ahsoka’s leaving, it didn’t truly surprise the Jedi that the young man was not able to reign in his anger. Though the resentment, the  _ hate _ , that was new.

The other novel thing was that Obi-Wan wasn’t following his wayward student. And yes, Anakin was technically a knight now, but everyone was aware of the fact that the two had never progressed from that seemingly eternal student-master relationship they had. Anyone with any sort of sense would be able to see or feel how the younger looked up to the ginger haired man. He did not hold that respect for anyone else in the Temple, save for maybe Master Yoda. 

So the fact that Kenobi wasn’t running after the stewing hurricane that was Skywalker was a cause for concern in and of itself, let alone for Skywalker’s Force signature that just screamed teetering on the edge of Falling.

However, Plo didn’t think his presence would be appreciated. Skywalker had just said goodbye to his Padawan prematurely, because of what the Council had decided. And in his eyes, the Council was one, unanimous being, not a true democracy as it was. Plo and Obi-Wan had been out-voted. They had tried to stand up for the young Togrutan. They had failed. 

A deep sense of unease permeated the Force after Anakin had stormed by, crawling beneath Plo’s skin and causing rocks to settle in his stomach.

Where was Obi-Wan?

-+-+-+-

The training droid lay in pieces by the other wall, the one Obi-Wan wasn’t propped up against. Anakin would have his head if he saw what Obi-Wan had done to the defenseless droid.

Then again, he almost did have his head. Kenobi unconsciously rubbed a hand across his neck, as though being able to soothe the damage his former Padawan had done. Never had he thought that Anakin would turn the Force on him. Would deliberately set out to hurt him. 

_ “I have failed you, Qui-Gon. I have failed your final wish, and your teachings.” _

His head thumped back against the wall, tears gathering in his eyes. He must not cry, he is meant to be a Jedi. He is not meant to be this weak, this uncontrolled, this useless. He was meant to set an example for others. No wonder the Order was not as it used to be if younglings were looking up to a failure of a Master. He hadn’t just failed his master, he had also failed his Padawan, and his Grand Padawan. 

What was he good for?

The door to his left swished open, letting in a sweeping cloak along with the wearer. Obi-Wan couldn’t gather the strength to look up and look a colleague or anyone else in the eyes in this state. He didn’t deserve it. They were all so good, so pure, so… right. And he, well, he wasn’t.

“Master Kenobi?” came the gruff voice. He managed to open his eyes. When did he close them? “Obi-Wan, can you hear me?” The voice was familiar, and it made something in Obi-Wan curl up and cry out in shame and frustration. The Jedi before him he knew, had known all his life, and had always been unwaveringly kind even in the darkest times. 

And reminded him of his now dead master. 

“Master Koon?” his voice was scratchy and tore at his throat, his chest complaining at the expulsion of air from his lungs. 

“Obi-Wan, what happened to you?” the Jedi knelt down before his fallen comrade, his eyebrows scrunched above the goggles. “Where are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, Master.”

Somehow, Obi-Wan didn’t think he was super convincing with his voice barely above a broken whisper. “No, you aren’t, and you will explain, but once I see to your throat. You sound like a dying bantha.” With that, Koon held out a hand, wanting Obi-Wan to take it and allow him to help.

But that was never going to work on the stubborn ginger. 

He managed to push himself to his feet, though the floor swayed beneath him and his back thumped back against the wall he had been sitting against. Before he hit the deck again, Master Plo managed to get Obi-Wan’s arm over his shoulders, and he started the journey to the Kel Door’s rooms. Obi-Wan stumbled along, even with Koon supporting him on his side. 

They run into no one in the halls between the training deck and Plo’s personal quarters, which is either a stroke of good luck, or due to Plo’s projections into the Force of ‘stay away’.

Probably the latter.

Plo manages to open his door and get Obi-Wan inside, even with the man dragging on half his body. He angles them towards the couch, allowing Obi-Wan to collapse back onto the cushions. The older Jedi master kneels before the other, reaching out with his hand and the Force to assess the younger, even when Obi-Wan attempts to bat him away in both respects. 

It doesn’t work.

-+-+-+-

Plo reaches out for the dim light before him. Usually Obi-Wan is a flame, a light brighter than those on a clone’s helmet, sparkling in the Force, beckoning for people, for others. Full of compassion and love and… Light. And now he’s not. He’s dim, beaten down, hurt, angry, but not at anyone else.

At himself.

And guilt.

Guilt permeates his signature like poison. It spreads and smothers the Light that generally shines so bright from the young council member. What in the Force could’ve happened?

“Obi-Wan, you need to talk to me. Who have you talked to since I last saw you?” Plo asked gently, eyes darting up to meet the greyish ocean that was Obi-Wan’s eyes, though the young master couldn’t see the contact from behind Plo’s goggles. The blues lower, looking at the ground, unwilling to meet Plo’s.

“Doesn’t matter, this was all my fault anyway,” he whispered, voice gravelly and rough, as though he had been… choked.

No, please Force, no. 

Plo ran the scan again, focusing more on Obi-Wan’s physical condition. The young master wasn’t expecting it, and so Plo managed to get a good snapshot before he was blocked out.

Trauma to the trachea, bronchi, ribs and sternum. No bruises left in any particular shape, just a mass below his skin. 

The Force had been used to do this.

Skywalker.

“Obi-Wan, did you find Skywalker?” he asked, hoping to find out more information, while also desperately hoping that he was wrong in the conclusion he had made. Please, let him be wrong. 

But the other man tensed. 

“I don’t-you-he didn’t mean to-”

“Obi-Wan,” Plo tried a bit more firmly. The man stopped stuttering, which was surely wreaking havoc on his throat

“It was just a mistake. He’s hurting, he lashed out. I’m glad it was only at me,” the whisper answered. A yawning chasm opened in Plo’s chest.

What did he mean  _ “I’m glad it was only at me” _ ?

“I-I should’ve fought the Council more, I should’ve trusted him, and trusted Ahsoka. That girl has been perfect from the start, but  _ I _ wasn’t strong enough to stop all this, and now she’s gone, and he’s hurting, and I stood by and did  _ nothing _ .”

Tears were starting to stream down his face, soaking into his beard, his breath coming in shudders. Plo noticed that the man before him was also beginning to shake, his shoulders shivering and hands quaking where they were clasped so tightly together. 

He leapt to his feet, unable to stay still any longer while trying to process what was spilling from the man before him. “Kenobi, that is bantha shit!” The younger man flinched, eyes wide and watery as they followed Koon’s pacing. “Ahsoka’s expulsion was not your fault. You did what you could,  _ I  _ did what I could. Do you blame me for the final decision the Council made?”

“What?!” Obi-Wan nearly shouted-or as best as he can with his damaged respiratory tract-eyes widening. “Of course not, why would it be your fault?” 

The rasp hurt Plo’s ears, tugged at his heart strings and made him want to swaddle the young Jedi in a hundred blankets and never let him leave. The young man before him had already been through too much for someone his age. For anyone. “So why then would it be your fault?” he asked instead, voice quiet and gentle. Obi-Wan froze, eyebrows together, mouth slightly open, ready with a rebuttal on his lips. But Plo’s words drew him up short. “I cared for her too, so why wasn’t it my responsibility to also prove her innocence as you seem to believe it was your’s?” he continued, hoping to get through to Obi-Wan. 

“Because-I-it’s just she’s-was-my Grand Padawan, she trusted me, and it was my duty to look after her, to care for her, and I failed. In every respect.” Tears continued to rush down his face, creating waterfalls over the smooth skin, reddening his eyes and accentuating the bags already under them. The shivering became more prominent, his breath hiccuping as he became more hysterical. “It’s-she doesn’t know, she doesn’t know-ow how much I-I-I cared-d-d for he-er. She knows I-I’m a failure. I failed he-er, I failed Anak-k-kin, I fail everyone. Everyone I lo-know gets hu-hurt somehow-how.” 

“Oh, Obi-Wan.” Plo finally gave into his heart, stepping forward and encompassing the man before him in his arms, allowing the human to bury his head into Plo’s shoulder. He sobbed and fisted his hands into the front of Plo’s robes, and by accident, his walls came crashing to the ground.

Plo was assaulted by the onslaught of emotion. Sadness and anger and guilt and fear, but most of all, an overwhelming sense of self-hatred. Before Plo could even begin to process the feelings pouring out of the other man and permeating the Force, they were ripped away, stuck behind cement walls and ray shields. Held close and protected. Or maybe he was being protected by those very walls, by Obi-Wan. 

But he refused to accept that. The Kel Door master useda tiny thread of the Force, snuck it between the cracks of those walls, between the tiniest of gaps in those shields, and broke them down from the inside, allowing Obi-Wan to release those emotions onto him again, even though it was against the human’s will. “There is no need to hide, Obi-Wan. I am here as your friend, to help you. You don’t need to hide such things.”

All this sobbing surely must be hell on the poor man’s throat, and so, with a few more tendrils, Plo reached into his friend, spun those tendrils into an aid and healed at least some of the damage done by Skywalker, tried to help Obi-Wan any way he could. 

“What Skywalker did was unacceptable, Obi-Wan. He should not have lashed out at you like that, even if it had been your fault, which it is not. He will face consequences for doing this to you.”

Obi-Wan’s head shot up, and if it was possible, the tears fell faster. “No please, don’t bring Anakin into this. It’s my fault he struck out, it’s my fault he was angry and can’t control it, I didn’t train him well enough, it’s on me. Please, don’t blame him for this.”

Plo was taken aback. How could he sit there and say that just after being physically assaulted by his former Padawan? How could he defen a man that had hurt him,  _ intentionally _ , after such a loss for the both of them? Who had done this to him to the point that Obi-Wan believed every bad thing to be his fault? Who instilled this hatred of himself into the man? What had been done to him to cause this?

Obi-Wan continued to sob into his chest, clinging his robes, but suddenly stiffened in his arms. “I’m sorry, oh my, Plo-Master Koon, this is entirely inappropriate of me,” the human said, his voice shaky and tears still pouring from his eyes. Everything about him screamed ‘hold me’, but he was pushing away, trying to distance himself. 

And Plo was not putting up with any of that.

He immediately tugged the other man in close again, feeling him tense in Plo’s arms before settling in and burying his head in Plo’s shoulder. “You’re okay, Obi-Wan. Cry as long as you need. None of this should have ever been done to you.”

Obi-Wan shook his head in denial, but continued to allow Plo to comfort him. 

The Kel Door master could feel his blood beginning to boil as the Jedi in his arms eventually cried himself into sleep. Plo gently moved Obi-Wan out of his arms and onto the couch, watching as the young man curled into himself, the bags under his eyes standing out against the redness and the puffiness the tears had caused. Carefully, he reached out and wiped some of the tears off of his cheeks. Obi-Wan’s face scrunched up a bit, a quiet whimper being released from his throat. 

Plo moved to his room and found a few thick blankets that he brought back to the sleeping master. He gently layered them over Obi-Wan before dragging over the armchair from the side. To his surprise, the noise didn’t cause any disturbance in Obi-Wan’s sleep, which was concerning in its own respect. 

With a datapad in hand that he had scooped off the coffee table, Plo settled in for a long night. And he maybe sent a message to Mace Windu informing him of the situation. Windu would track down Skywalker, Plo had no doubt. 

And while Windu did that, Plo would stay here to support the crumbling master and hopefully help his friend in some way, even if it was small in the grand scheme of things.

It had to be better than nothing. Better than Obi-Wan being alone. 

  
  



	2. Let It Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, lots of people wanted more, so from their comments (and thank you for all of them, I appreciate them so much ahhh!) and the ideas they gave, I came up with this. Be ready for more angst! (I'm so sorry my poo Obi-Wan). There will be a third chapter to wrap this all up. Apologies for any spelling mistakes, I've been looking at my laptop screen for way too long (thanks school), and I just finished an English essay, so waaaay too much writing. But this was fun writing, so who needs sleep hah hah...
> 
> Enjoy :)

“Knight Skywalker, Master Windu wishes to see you.”

Anakin whipped around to face the young padawan before him, her forehead barely reaching his bicep. She was a small human girl, blue green eyes shining from a pale face. Oh Force she reminded him of his old master. He shoved that thought away quickly, anger bubbling in his veins at the thought of the auburn haired man, and the guilt festering just below it. He hadn’t seen him in a day, not since the fight. 

“Please, if you’ll follow me?” the Padawan spoke again, gesturing forward. 

“Of course, Padawan,” he replied easily, allowing a smile to grace his face. This young didn’t deserve his anger towards his former master, she was just doing her duty. “Lead the way.”

It didn’t take him long at all to recognise that he was being led to the Council chambers. What bone did Windu have to pick with him now?

The doors slid open and the padawan at his side melted away. As he entered the room, he noticed that it was empty save for the dark figure looking out the centre window, hands clasped behind his back, and gaze over Coruscant. “Master?” Anakin asked, breaking the tense silence with the sledgehammer that was the question. 

Mace let out a long breath before whipping around to face the young knight. Immediately, Anakin knew he had done something wrong. The heat of the glare that Windu directed at him could have been hotter than a lightsaber if it were physical. If looks could kill, Anakin would be cremated and one with the Force within seconds. “Knight Skywalker,” Windu growled, walking forward and lowering himself into his seat, channeling every ounce of power that came with the rank of Master of the Order. 

“Master Windu, you wished to see me?” Anakin sneered, the master’s tone already having gotten under his skin. It seemed to be Mace’s super power; the ability to piss off Anakin within 60 seconds of seeing him.

“Tell me, when was the last time you saw Obi-Wan?”

Well, he certainly hadn’t been expecting that. 

With eyes narrowed toward the Korun master, he answered slowly. “Last night, Master. Why are you wanting to know?”

“Where did you see him?” the master continued to press, ignoring the Knight’s question. 

“We were in a training salle. Windu-”

“That is  _ Master _ Windu to you, young Skywalker,” he growled in response. All of this was adding up together into a picture Mace wasn’t liking. But it did line up with what Plo had reported about Kenobi.

It seemed this was getting more concerning by the second. 

“Apologies,  _ master,  _ but why are you asking all this? Where is Obi-Wan?” Skywalker demanded.

Clearly, Kenobi had never succeeded in teaching the boy any sort of negotiating skill. A shame, considering the ginger’s skill in the art of vocal battle. “That is none of your concern for now, Skywalker. What is your concern is that I am putting you on probation for the assault of a Council Member and for inappropriate use of the Force upon a fellow Jedi. You are not to leave the Temple until this matter has been resolved or you are told otherwise. You are dismissed, Knight Skywalker.”

Anakin stood before Mace with a mouth wider than a loth-cat yawning. “You cannot be serious!” he exclaimed once he finally shook off the shock. “Surely this isn’t about what happened with Obi-Wan? It was a fair, even match! This is ridiculous!”

“I have spoken, Skywalker. Leave, before I have you restrained and removed.”

With that, Anakin finally reigned himself in enough to turn on his heel and leave, blowing past the Padawan waiting outside, a few other Council members at her side. The three waiting Councillors watched as Anakin stormed into the elevator, the doors closing on the growing rage in the enclosed space. 

Kit Fisto, Depa Billaba and Yoda entered the Council chambers, instantly noticing the stewing Master already sat inside. “Care to explain Knight Skywalker’s behaviour, do you Master Windu?” Yoda asked amicably as he ambled over to his seat next to the Master of the Order. 

“Has Plo informed you of the state he found Obi-Wan in last night?” he asked in response, locking eyes with the small green master. 

“No, he only told us to come here and see you about it,” Depa piped up, eyes darting between the two highest masters. “Please, fill us in. What happened to Obi-Wan?”

It was a closely guarded secret of the Council. Every single one of them cared very deeply for their newest, youngest member. The poor man had not had the most fortunate life within the Order; most of them regarded it as one of the hardest ever experienced by a Jedi. He had faced hurdle after hurdle, never seeming to catch a break. From his difficult start in life filled with horrid visions, to the rocky start of his apprenticeship, to the demands he faced during it, then to losing his master to a boy not affiliated with the Order, to then really losing him to a Sith, defeating a Sith, raising said boy as his Padawan upon being Knighted (at a young age mind you), to earning the rank of Master and Councillor and now being a High General of the Grand Army of the Republic. And that was only the big parts. Not to mention the many things he has faced day in and day out since becoming old enough for the Force to fully affect him. So yes, all the Council members held Obi-Wan very close and to hear that he was found ‘in a state’ was very disconcerting. 

Especially with all that had happened recently. With Maul back, Adi Gallia’s death at his hands, the Duchess of Mandalore gone and now Ahsoka’s departure, the young Master had recently been put through the ringer. All of the Council members had been watching after their friend, though in true Kenobi fashion, he never expressed any of these issues with any of the Council. Instead, he had attempted to hide them, though every member on the Council could see how it was causing the ginger to crumble, his shields slipping further with each day passed. 

Once they had all turned their eyes towards the hunched over form that was Windu, he began to speak, telling them all he knew. “Plo found Obi-Wan hurt in one of the training salles, a destroyed droid next to him. He assumed Obi-Wan had gotten hurt by the droid, that it had malfunctioned and caught him off guard, or something similar. Plo managed to get Obi-Wan back to his quarters, and found that his respiratory tract was damaged, as though it had been crushed, though not completely. According to him, Obi-Wan broke down, and revealed a few things. I’m afraid, my friends, that we have failed in assuring our youngest member of his worth and place here, and his actions in recent conflicts. Plo will be staying with him until further notice, but he was able to say that it was Skywalker that had done the physical damage. I have put him on probation until we can prove this accusation.”

“That’s horrible,” Kit finally said after a few minutes of silence and contemplation of all the masters in the room. “How did we let it get this bad? And why did Skywalker attack him? I thought he loved Obi-Wan very much?”

“Many underlying issues, Skywalker has. Some not so underlying, it seems. But to attack Master Obi-Wan, hurt, Skywalker must be. A strong bond, the former Master-Padawan team has. To betray that, very unstable, young Skywalker must be. Approach this with caution, we must,” Yoda commented, his amber eyes boring into Mace’s. 

“Hence the probation. He is not able to escape from this, and if he attempts to, then he will no longer be welcome here,” Depa responded, an understanding falling across her as she realised her former master’s plan.

“Exactly. We need to access the security recordings from the salle. And, Kit, Yoda, could you both go check on Masters Plo and Obi-Wan. I;m sure they would both appreciate seeing you. Depa and I will see what evidence we can find of SSkywalker’s assault. And maybe find out the reasoning behind it,” Mace instructed, already going over his plan of evidence he could gather.

“Agree with you, I do, Mace. To Obi-Wan and Plo, Kit and I shall go,” Yoda responded, nodding sagely. “Come, Kit. Check on our wayward friends, we must.” The diminutive master hopped out of his seat, and Kit knelt before him, allowing the green troll to clamber up on his back, tapping him on the shoulder with his gimer stick to signal for the Nautolan to move forward. “May the Force be with you,” Master Yoda said to the two left in the Council room.

“And with you, Masters,” Depa responded, seeing how Mace’s eyes were already staring into the distance in thought. 

Once the two left, she turned to her former master, assessing his appearance and deciding her advances would be welcome. She sat herself on the arm of Mace’s chair and leaned against the larger Master. She still only barely reached the an’s shoulder when standing, much to her irritation. “We will fix this with Obi-Wan. We will make this better.”

He let out a sigh, finally focusing back on her. “Yes, we will. We must, for his sake, if not to quell our own guilt.”

They remained close for a bit, balancing themselves with the shared presence, revelling in the comfort they gained from each other. Eventually, they had to pull away and begin their collection of evidence against Skywalker. 

-+-+-+-

It wasn’t an unusual sight to see any Master carrying the Grandmaster through the Temple, though to see him perched on Kit Fisto’s shoulder was rather uncommon. Due to Kit’s aquatic ability of his species, he was usually dispatched to underwater worlds on the front lines. So to see the two of them walking through the Temple and clearly moving for the residential quarters. Few stopped them as they felt the feeling of not quite urgency permeating from the younger master, though Yoda appeared deceptively calm, especially compared to his companion. 

A few padawans looked as though they would step forward, but their master’s put their hands on their shoulders, steering them away from the whirling determination that cocooned the two, and so they made it to Plo’s quarters with no interruptions. Upon reaching the door, Kit let Yoda off of his back, allowing the master to step forward and motion for the door to open, entering the dark quarters quietly.

Instantly, Kit noticed that the curtains to the large windows in the living room were closed, stopping the late afternoon sunlight from filling the quarters and signalling to both Councillors to be quiet. They found Plo meditating in front of the couch, facing the curtained windows, breaths deep and quiet. On the couch behind him lay a very small looking figure. Deep bruises ran down the front of the man’s neck, right in front and around his trachea, and seemed to run down below his robes. His ginger hair was splayed out on the couch pillow, seeming dull and lifeless to how Kit remembers it. Dark circles surrounded his closed eyes, and his cheekbones stood out, even in the dull light, and his pale skin seemed paler than usual, almost grey. 

Yoda ambled up beside him, and somehow silently leaped up onto the couch to lean over and assess the sleeping man. A small, almost silent whine seemed to come from the small master as he jumped from the back of the couch to the floor in front, so that he now stood between the meditating master on the floor and the sleeping master on the couch. He ran his eyes over Obi-Wan again, before closing them and letting his head hang forward a bit. Kit didn’t think he had ever seen the 800 and something year old master ever look so defeated and sad. 

The small, green master then turned to face the back of Plo. He reached out, placing a clawed hand upon the Kel Dorr’s shoulder, bringing him forward and out of his meditation. Plo must not have been very deep, for he didn’t even startle from the Grandmaster’s touch, instead, releasing a deep breath and turning to face the two. He got to his feet quietly, nodding at the two before turning towards the kitchen, expecting the two other masters to follow so they didn’t disturb Obi-Wan. 

Once away from the sleeping ginger, Plo spoke up, albeit quietly. “Hello, Masters. It is good to see you, though I do wish it wasn’t in joint concern for  _ someone _ .” He pointedley glances over at the sleeping lump on the couch. 

“To see you too, good it is, Master Plo. Worried, the Council is. About young Obi-Wan.”

“I wasn’t expecting him to look that bad,” Kit admitted, his own eyes darting back to look at the youngest Council member. “Skywalker really did a number on him.”

Anger flared from the Kel Door master, anger that both of the visitors felt. “He was much worse last night, I healed what I could through his shields. But what he said… we have failed him. Qui-Gon must’ve… I’m not sure where we went wrong, or where everyone that has had a hand in raising him has gone wrong, but he is crumbling. He is blaming himself for everything that is going wrong. From what I could gather, Skywalker lashed out at Obi-Wan in a fit of rage as he blamed Obi-Wan for Ahsoka’s departure. I don’t know what Obi-Wan did in defense, but he had some horrible wounds. Damage to his entire respiratory system, and not through physical contact. The Force was used to inflict the damage.”

He was almost growling by the end of it, but Yoda’s claw on his leg made him take a deep breath and release some of the anger into the Force. Though not all of it. Some of it may still be useful, for either dealing with Skywalker, or a stubborn Obi-Wan. 

“Calm, we must be. Or else, deal with Obi-Wan, we will not be able to,” Yoda said, looking straight through Plo’s goggles and into his eyes, as though being able to actually see them. 

“Yes, he was rather… unwilling to acknowledge Skywalker’s part in what happened last night. He didn’t want Skywalker to be tried for what happened, or have any sort of consequences. Which is utter bantha shit,” Plo explained, glancing over at the still somnolent man.

“We will have to get the full story out of him, but he might just need our support at this moment in time,” Kit responded, also looking over at their colleague. 

“Until he wakes, we must wait. Only then, answers will we find.”

-+-+-+-

His surroundings came to him slowly, through a blur of colours as he first cracked open his eyes, slowly morphing into actual images. This room was familiar, similar to his own suite, but it wasn’t his own.

Immediately he shot up, eyes wide and searching, registering the blanket that fell from his chest to crumpled into his lap. The sun was beginning to set over Coruscant, night falling though the stars didn’t shine though, not with the huge amounts of light pollution the planet of a single city gave off. However, he could only see that through the crack in the closed curtains. Who closed their curtains before it was dark?

Next he noticed the pain in his chest and throat. It felt as if someone had grabbed him and slowly crushed it, though it wasn’t as bad as what he could vaguely remember from his time with Ventress. Or on Kadavo. Or on Kiros. Really, maybe he just needed to toughen up. Others had gone through worse than a little bit of choking. Many people even enjoyed it, so who was he to complain. It wasn’t that bad, god he was so whiny and overdramatic. No wonder no one ever wanted him. 

It was amazing, and kind of concerning, that it took Master Yoda appearing before him for him to notice the three other masters in the room with him. Immediately, he sprang to his feet, though pain flared in his throat at the quick inhale he took upon his realisation. “Sit down, Master Obi-Wan,” Yoda said as soon as he managed to get his breathing into some semblance of rightness. “Injured, you are.” He prods at Obi-Wan’s shins until the ginger sits down on the couch again. The green master then leans down and gathers the blanket up that had fallen in Obi-Wan’s hasty greeting. Carefully, he places it back on Obi-Wan’s lap before climbing up onto the couch so he’s next to his great-grandpadawan. 

Kit Fisto and Plo Koon walked over slowly, making sure to not let Obi-Wan feel as though they were boxing him in. They arranged themselves so there was ample room between each of the Masters, with Yoda being the closest to Obi-Wan, his claws resting on the younger master’s knee.

And the memories of the night came rushing back. Of him, carrying on like a youngling, crying of a little injury, one he wouldn't usually even consider reporting to the medics. He had revealed too much to Plo, he was sure these three masters were about to tell him of his demotion from the Council. He had lost control the other night. It wasn't acceptable behaviour. He should be able to take care of himself. 

His heart fluttered in his chest already, his fingers twining together and fiddling with the edge of his robes. He couldn’t stop the impulse, and he could feel the tension in the air. He gathered himself and looked up to meet Plo’s eyes through his goggles. “I do apologise for causing trouble for you last night, Master Koon. I was not in control of my emotions, and that is no fault but my own. I do sincerely apologise for my behaviour.”

The tension in the room seemed to ratchet up another level. Plo’s forehead creased, but before he could say anything, Master Fisto stepped forward, kneeling in front of Obi-Wan. “Obi-Wan, please, listen to me. WHat happened to you was wrong. A Jedi should never lash out in anger, and especially never at a fellow Jedi. And, in addition to that, NEVER at the man that raised them when no one else would.”

“Wrong it is, what Skywalker did,” Yoda spoke up from next to him. 

“He was hurting. He just lost his padawan. I should have known better, and I shouldn’t have come crawling here to bother Master Plo,” Obi-Wan tried to defende, but his voice was little more than a rough rasp, even after the healing Plo had managed it was quite damaged. 

“Obi-Wan, you didn’t come…  _ crawling  _ here.” Plo practically spat the world, the Force around him throbbing with a familiar, burning heat. One he had felt from Anakin many times. “I almost had to drag you back here to ensure you got proper treatment, to make sure you were safe. You are never a bother, my friend.”

“I’m sure you had more important things to be doing.” His eyes flicker to the ground, focusing on the corner of the blanket touching the ground. “You finally had time off around the Temple, and I’ve been a nuisance, my issues and inability to teach Anakin well with controlling his anger lead to this. Lead to me being so… helpless, and useless, that I needed someone else to care for me. That’s on me, and I apologise for that. For taking that from you.”

Yoda stroked a single claw down his cheek. It came away glistening with a tear balancing on the end of the claw. He hadn’t even noticed that he was crying. Quickly, hoping that the other two hadn’t noticed, he buried his head in his hands, attempting to hide his shame. “I’m sorry. This is what I was-was talking about. I can’t control myse-self.”

“You have nothing to hide, Obi-Wan. Please, trust us, with this at the very least,” Plo attempted to comfort him, his own heart throbbing as he watched his young friend breakdown in front of him. And an anger swirled there too. The same anger Plo and Yoda were feeling. The unfairness of this. Skywalker may preach about everything being unfair, but this was truly an injustice to the young, self-destructive, highly intellectual and influential master. He had never deserved any of the pain dealt to him throughout his life. And here, his very own student had caused such pain. Had turned this all back onto him. It was complete banthashit, and he knew that the three of them would make sure Skywalker got the punishment he deserved. 

The Force was screaming at them, pulling them towards the sobbing man. Crying out for them to comfort him, to bring him some semblance of peace, to help him in some way.

Plo got up and crossed the room, and Kit moved up onto the couch so he was in reach of the human. Plo moved so that he was on Obi-Wan’s other side, allowing Master Yoda to clamber up onto his arm, across his shoulders and into Obi-Wan’s lap. The move startled the crying Jedi, and he did attempt to move out of the hold, his muscles tensing as three sets of arms wound around him. But before anyone could speak up, make sure this was okay, he was relaxing into it, his back slumping, and he sunk into the embrace.

“It will be okay, Obi-Wan. It will be okay. We will fix this.”

  
  



	3. Something Must Be Done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, there were lots of requests for how this story should end, and I took them all into account, used them as inspiration, but I won't please everyone, so I just wrote, and this came out. There is one more chapter (I know, I know, but I thought when the document got to 6,000 words which is as long as the whole story so far I should split it up). So yeah, part 3 of 4, with part 4 almost done. Hopefully will be posted within the next week. And also, thank you for all the amazing comments! This story has absolutely blown up and it amazes me that so many people have spent the time reading it, so thank you all!
> 
> Once again, no beta, so apologies for any typos! Just point them out to me and I'll fix them up!
> 
> Enjoy :)

His stomach churned with the thought of it. Being on probation gave him a lot of time to think, about… well, about everything. But the swirling, dark mass that had taken up residence in his heart and stomach banished his appetite and corrupted his mind throughout most of each day. And everytime it resurfaced, reminding him of its presence, he was rocketed back to that night. It was little over a week ago that she left, and that he did the unthinkable. That he attacked the one man who had believed in him over the past decade and a bit. He was the only one in the entire temple who had put up with Anakin throughout his more volatile years, and that supported him even against the Council’s judgement, and against Yoda’s. 

But despite all this, Anakin had lashed out. Had hurt the one man that he cared for more than any other Jedi, more than any other person really, besides Padme. Had been just like the careless little asshole he was as a teenager, who had reduced that man to nothing, that had sworn at him, belittled him, told him every and any inadequacy, even ones that didn’t exist. Perceived faults and flaws, had even told him that he wished that his master had died instead of Qui-Gon.

And Obi-Wan had always just taken it. Had grinned and beared it. Had never once yelled back, except once. Only one time had he ever responded, and it was to that particular comment. But had it been the rebuttal that was deserved? Had it been the sarcastic remark, or angry reprimand that had been called for? 

No.

It was a loud scream, a throat tearing agreement. 

-+-+-+-

_ “You’re useless! You don’t even teach me what I need to know! You don’t care, you never have!” Anakin yelled, face red and fists clenched, heart beating wildly in his chest as he faced down his master. It had been a year and a half since Anakin had been whisked away from Tatooine into this new life, and he  _ knew _ Obi-Wan wasn’t teaching Anakin everything he needed to know. He was holding the boy back.  _

_ Said master was sporting an unusual transitionatory haircut, somewhere between the Padawan style and proper, long hair. The front and top of his skull fell in waves around his face, and the back was longer, reaching just above his collar. The ginger locks framed his face and brought the blue in his eyes out. Anakin thought he suited it, but that was besides the point at the moment. _

_ “You didn’t even want me! Qui-Gon wanted me! He didn’t want you, he wanted me! You’re just stuck with me, and you punish me for it! You’re the worst master ever!” _

_ “Anakin wait a min-” _

_ “I wish you had died instead of Qui-Gon! You  _ should  _ have died instead of Master Qui-Gon!” _

_ “Do you think I don’t know that?!” Obi-Wan yelled back, easily matching the boy’s volume, though his deeper voice easily overpowered Anakin’s. “Do you think I don’t wish for that everyday?! To switch places with him? To let him live, because I don’t deserve it? Because I know I’m not good enough for you, Anakin! You deserved Qui-Gon, and he deserved you! Do you not think that every moment of everyday that I regret my own inadequacy?! I do!” _

_ Tears poured down the Knight’s face, leaving dark trails and reddened eyes behind. His shoulders slumped and his arms hung uselessly at his side, eyes darting away as he turned away from the young Padawan before him. “Anakin the only reason I haven’t joined him is you. Because you deserve a chance at a better life than what you had on Tatooine, but if you truly need a different master… then I will find you one.” _

_ And with that, he left.  _

_ -+-+-+- _

He had been the worst thing possible for Obi-Wan. The man had been grieving, had been nursing a broken training bond, but had still tried his hardest to defend Anakin, and train him from the very start. Most masters had years of Knighthood behind them and a Padawan who already knew the basic saber forms and had been taking classes since they could talk. He had not even been given the time to grieve, or to celebrate his Knighthood, or to develop into his own Jedi, or to do any of the myriad of things that he should have been able to do before taking on a Padawan. And especially a difficult Padawan. He had never asked for help, Anakin had never really spent time with any other masters except those that had specialised in certain areas, or when Obi-Wan was sent on solo missions, which rarely happened throughout Anakin’s apprenticeship. 

Since having his own Padawan, Anakin had realised how much his own master had taken onto his shoulders. Anakin himself constantly asked others, especially (and mostly) Obi-Wan for help with Ahsoka, and not because of any fault of her own. But because he didn’t know all of the information she sought. He couldn’t possibly know all of it. And some things he himself struggled with, let alone attempting to teach them to a student. Or even just to get some alone time. But Obi-Wan had never done that. He had trained Anakin by himself, unless he physically couldn’t, and even then, he had attempted to (Anakin will never forget Obi-Wan passing out during a reading lesson due to a major concussion he had, two weeks of sleep deprivation, and signs of general torture after a solo mission had gone wrong and he hadn’t gone to the Halls of Healing). And how had Anakin repaid him?

By attacking him in a fit of rage. By hurting him in the ways he knew hurt the most, both during his apprenticeship and in the training dojo. He had been ruthless, needlessly cruel, and way out of line. He had hurt Obi-Wan, in so many ways, too many ways, too many times over his career as a Jedi. The man already had so many self-esteem issues, he didn’t need Anakin adding to them.

Though he feared it was too late for that.

-+-+-+-

The Council watched the footage silently. The show of aggression, anger,  _ hatred _ toward Obi-Wan shook all of them to the core. Not one Jedi on the Council disagreed with the young man’s early appointment to the Council, nor his very early Knighthood. Obi-Wan was well liked and loved among the Jedi Council, even among the entirety of the Order. He was charming and sweet, compassionate, caring, but not arrogant or privileged. He took what was dealt to him and didn’t complain. 

And he had suffered terribly.

The Council had very nearly put him on probation during the early months of his Knighthood due to his constant overworking, but they had known it would go down like a cup of cold sick. They knew how Obi-Wan would interpret it; that he was failing. They had considered taking Anain off him too. Though he had hidden it well, the Council was not naive. They had watched as the ginger had driven himself into the ground caring for that boy, how he had given everything he had and much he didn’t to ensure that boy reached Knighthood. And they had not wanted him to give under the pressure. They had not wanted to lose him to that fate. But if they had taken his Padawan, they were sure he would have finally broken. That he would truly believe himself a failure, that he had not been good enough.

And the fear of that near certainty terrified the Council. They could not lose one of the most prospective Jedi in the past century to stress, self-hatred and grief. 

And so they kept the Master-Padawan team together, for better or worse. 

Now, as they watched said Padawan turn the very Force he had taught the boy to wield upon him, they flinched, and they reconsidered all the actions in the history of the two. All of the times Obi-Wan had darker, heavier shadows beneath his eyes, everytime Anakin was found furiously dismantling a droid, any time Obi-Wan was found nursing wounds in the Temple Gardens, anytime an injury had been hidden from any of the other Jedi in the Temple, all of the times Anakin and Obi-Wan had been just that little bit more out of sync. 

They thought over all of it.

Because before them was proof of a potential abuser. Of someone who lashed out in anger against someone he cared deeply for. No matter the Order’s rules on attachment, those two had always been attached. And to be completely fair, the Council had allowed it. They had hoped it would allow for Anakin to bring the Jedi Order closer to his heart, and provide the softness and comfort Obi-Wan would need after losing his master. His very emotionally distant master. 

But how long could this have been happening for? Was it a one off, or was this a repeated behaviour?

They needed to find out.

-+-+-+-

Obi-Wan hadn’t seen Anakin since the incident. In fact, he hadn’t been back to his own quarters since the incident. Plo had kept him within his quarters, had retrieved his robes from the human’s quarters, and a few holos that had been opened by Obi-Wan and not finished. The only places Obi-Wan had been were to any of the various Temple Gardens, and to Yoda’s quarters, who had only meditated with him the few times he had been invited. 

Plo had been ensuring he was eating three times a day and sleeping at night. It was… weird wasn’t the right word, but Obi-Wan had never felt so rested and looked after since his creche days. Plo also meditated with him everyday, giving him checkovers to ensure that the damage caused by Anakin was healing the rest of the way.

He had also been getting other visitors; Luminara Unduli, Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, to name a few. They had all been kind and caring, they hadn't come to ask about reports, or war efforts, or anything. 

As said, weird. 

Obi-Wan had tried to get out as well, insisting that he could take care of himself, that this was all unnecessary, that he was fine, that he wasn’t affected.

He never told him that he deserved it. That hadn’t gone down well during his breakdown, so it probably wouldn’t work any better now, even though it was the truth. 

He was disappointed that he hadn’t seen Anakin yet. He missed the boy. After so long living with him, and fighting with him, and caring for him, Obi-Wan was not used to being without him by his side for long periods of time. Usually, even if they were separated, Anakin would at least give him a comm call every few days, just to say hi. Or ask him for something. 

He wasn’t happy with what Anakin had done, don’t get him wrong, he was disappointed in the young man’s actions, but he understood where they came from, and why he acted on them. Obi-Wan had never been able to teach the boy how to find true peace, how to fully release his emotions into the Force. That was Obi-Wan’s failing, and it resulted in an unbalanced young man not ready for separation from one that he had grown attached to. In addition to that, Obi-Wan had been on the very Council that had been the ones to cause Ahsoka’s decision, so it was no wonder Anakin blamed him for Ahsoka’s casting out and subsequent leaving. So yes, Obi-Wan was disappointed in both himself and Anakin, though he was not angry.

He just hoped to see Anakin soon. To settle this issue between them. To apologise as well.

-+-+-+-

The Council chamber had always intimidated Anakin. Something about the way the Councillors circled you as though they were stripping you down and peering into your very soul and you couldn’t stop them. The way they trapped you in with no hope of escape. You were always the centre of attention when within those chambers, and it always made Anakin’s hair stand on end, his heart thundering in his own ears as he faced down the Councillors. Usually, someone would be beside him ( _ ‘but you lost both of them,’ _ his mind screamed), or over the past couple of years he’s had Obi-Wan sitting on the Council, so always before him if not at his side. 

Not now.

Now the ginger wasn’t even in his chair. No, he was recovering. Recovering from the damage done to him by Anakin. He hadn’t seen his former master since the incident, and in all honesty, had been avoiding him out of fear. Not of retribution, or even revenge. Obi-Wan would never be one to stoop so low as to enact revenge, he was too good of a Jedi for that. No, he was afraid that he would see the damage done, he would see what he had done to Obi-Wan, and that Obi-Wan would hate him for it, or at least not want to see him. To want to be rid of him. To have finally realised how much of a disappointment he was to Obi-Wan’s teachings.

That is what he was truly afraid of.

He and Obi-Wan had certainly faced their issues, throughout Anakin’s time as a Padawan and throughout the War. However, only one thing could possibly be comparable to this. Obi-Wan’s deception over Rako Hardeen. How he had used Anakin, and Ahsoka, to achieve an end goal. 

The anger swirled in Anakin once again before he took a breath and remembered the conversation the two had had regarding the incident.

-+-+-+-

_ “Anakin? Can I come in?” Obi-Wan asked through the door. _

_ It slid open, revealing Anakin’s small room, with him standing at his desk, tinkering with what looked to be a tactical droid’s arm. “You never usually ask, what’s changed?” he grunted, continuing to solder a few pieces of metal together on the arm.  _

_ “Anakin… look,” he started, sitting down on the bed so that he faced Anakin. His voice was still a little hoarse after the modulator. He also had very short hair, though some had grown back in, along with a shadow of his usual beard. “I cannot emphasise enough how truly, deeply sorry I am about what happened, about how it hurt you… how  _ I _ hurt you. And I also want a chance to explain, if you’ll let me.” _

_ Anakin sighed, his shoulders dropping as he also dropped the droid arm and turned to face Obi-Wan, meaning his weight against the edge of the desk. “I’ll allow it. Though don’t think this means I’m forgiving you.” _

_ “Of course not, I… I wouldn’t forgive me either. I wasn’t strong enough to stand up to the Council and that’s on me. I was given this assignment because of our relationship. The Council, and most everyone really, both inside and outside the Order, knows how close we are. Can see it in how we interact, how we fight, how we do anything together. So they knew that whatever ‘happened’ to me, would have to have a severe effect on you, at least to the public eye. But, the Council thought that you would disagree with the assignment, with the mission as a whole, and so decided that it was in my best interests and survival not to tell you. In addition to that, both your reaction and Ahsoka’s reaction would be a lot more convincing as you would truly believe me dead. I tried to tell them Anakin, I did. I tried to convince them otherwise, that we could come up with a better plan, a different plan. Something that would be just as effective. They disagreed. You know how the rest of the story goes.” _

_ Anakin remained silent for a few moments, digesting what Obi-Wan had just told him. It hadn’t been Obi-Wan’s idea. He hadn’t wanted to use their relationship for the better of a mission. It hadn’t been Obi-Wan, hell, he had actively fought it. Maybe, maybe he could forgive him. _

_ “Sorry to have disturbed you, I’ll leave you be.” He was already leaving.  _

_ “Obi-Wan.” The ginger turned to face him, hope sparking in his crystal blue eyes. “Not today, but soon, I think. Soon I can forgive you.” _

_ A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “That’s more than I can ask for. Thank you Anakin.” _

-+-+-+-

What he had done, how he had hurt his former master, was so much worse than the damage done by that particular Council decision, because, ultimately, it wasn’t Obi-Wan’s fault. He was just following orders. What Anakin had done, however, was cruel and unnecessary. Obi-Wan didn’t deserve the pain Anakin had inflicted upon him, nor the blame that Anakin had placed upon his already breaking shoulders. It wasn’t on Obi-Wan, he could see that now, but knowing the other man, he would not give the blame over to anyone else,even just to shift it on himself. No. He would take it, and more, on. 

And that was why he was standing here. Before the Council. Without his former master to defend him, or even support him. Because  _ Anakin  _ had hurt him, because  _ Anakin  _ had lashed out at the one man in his life that had always stood beside him. 

And because of  _ Anakin,  _ that man did not stand next to him now.

“Anakin Skywalker,” Windu started, a hologram before him with writing on it, though he didn’t spare it a glance. “You are here before the Council today in regards to an attack on a Council member and your former master Obi-Wan Kenobi. There is evidence that you assaulted said master during a sparring match, where you used unnecessary amounts of power, and the Force, to hurt him in a way that was not fair to the match, nor fair to him. You then managed to injure him, and leave him, without showing any signs of remorse for your actions at the time. Is this true?”

Having it laid out before him made Anakin’s stomach churn again, his head filling with fuzz. By the Force, had he really done that? Of course, he knew the answer.

“Yes, Master.”

“You left him injured in the training dojo, did you not?”

“Yes Master.”

“And this behaviour was unwarranted. It was not in self-defense, but in anger?”

“Yes Master.”

“To defend yourself, nothing to say, Skywalker?” Yoda piped up, leaning forward on his gimer stick. 

“No excuse, Master, but an explanation, if I may?” He looked to Mace Windu for approval. With his nod, he continued. “My Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, had been expelled from the Order over a crime that she did not commit. That was the Council’s decision. They… well, you decided that she was not to be tried within the Order, but by a military Court by the Republic. Then, when she proved her innocence, which shouldn’t be necessary, as innocent until proven guilty and all that, but when she did prove her innocence, she left. Because of the decision the Council had made by expelling her before she had any chance to defend herself. The Order lost faith in her, and so she lost faith in the Order. She left, and I unfairly blamed Master Obi-Wan. That fault is no one’s but my own. I should never have lashed out in anger, especially against him, who never deserved it. And I regret that. I regret that deeply.”

“You should,” said Plo Koon’s gravelly voice. His brows furrowed as he seemed to think over it again in a fraction of a second before continuing. “Obi-Wan did nothing to deserve the treatment you dealt him. He is not the Council, he did not choose Ahsoka’s fate. That was the Council. In fact he did everything he could to persuade this Council that your former Padawan was innocent, but the majority ruled out, and so he was out voted. He fought much harder than you will ever know, and he was repaid in violence and pain. You hurt him beyond words,  _ Skywalker _ .” He was snarling by the end of it, Mace reaching towards him in a calming gesture. 

“I know.” It came out as barely above a whisper, but it hung in the air, echoed around the chamber as though it was much louder than it was in reality.

Mace spoke up again before the Kel Door could find something else to say. “Okay, a vote is needed on this matter. Once that has been conducted and counted, if found guilty, judgement on the punishment will be passed. Is everyone in agreement?” 

A chorus of ‘aye’s sounded around the chamber. 

“Knight Skywalker, you may leave the chamber. The Council will decide on your fate.”

Anakin bowed and left as hastily as he could.

-+-+-+-

It was a unanimous decision; guilty. There had never been a question in Mace’s mind to Skywalker’s guilt, and he did not believe there had been in any of his colleagues' minds either. They had all seen the recording, most had seen Obi-Wan since then, seen the bruises colouring his throat, felt the darkness of misplaced guilt weighing on his shoulders.

Though that had been there for a very long time.

Too long.

Skywalker was called in after that, and his punishment delivered; three months of probation in the Temple, along with kitchen duty for all three of those months, and meditation with a Councillor twice a week to get to the bottom of the aggression he seemed to be harbouring. Mace believed the young Knight had gotten off very lightly, but they needed him on the frontlines, and so rehabilitation was a higher priority than outright punishment so that the Chancellor wouldn’t start asking too many questions about his favourite Jedi. 

And, Skywalker was to apologise to Obi-Wan Kenobi, and mean it. 

Plo, Mace and Yoda had been selected to supervise that one, both as a formality to prove he did it and meant it, and also to keep an eye on Obi-Wan. Knowing the Stewjon master, the man would probably try to take most of the blame onto himself, as he was wont to do. 

Plo went ahead to prepare Obi-Wan, leaving before the two masters who were to follow Anakin. The boy was quiet; much quieter than Mace had ever seen him. But was it in anger, or remorse? 

“About the result, what think you, Skywalker?” Yoda asked, turning to look up at the silent Knight. 

“I… I think it was… light, all things considered, Master,” he replied, eyes downcast, not meeting Mace or Yoda’s gaze. “I think, for what I did to Master Obi-Wan I deserved… deserve much worse.”

“Hmmmmm…” was Yoda’s response, before turning towards Mace, a knowing gleam in his eyes, and a familiar question. Mace let out a small sigh, hiding his smile as he turned and stooped low so that the green Master could climb onto his back. His comm blinked twice; the signal they had agreed upon from Plo. Obi-Wan was ready.

  
  



	4. Revelations of a Former Padawan

Plo keyed open his quarters and quietly stepped inside, casting a glance around to see if he could spot Obi-Wan. It was entirely possible that the other Master was in the adjoining room that Plo dusted off again. He hadn't had a Padawan in a long time, so hadn’t found it all that necessary to keep the room stocked, but now he had Obi-Wan staying, so he had cleaned it up, got a cleaning droid in, and made it inhabitable once again. 

Plo swept the floor once again with his gaze, just to check he hadn’t missed the red head when he saw him perched in the corner between two of the couches, face towards the sun streaming in through the window and eyes closed to the light. He sat in the traditional meditation pose, palms up and legs crossed, face held up towards the warmth from the sun like a lazy Lothcat lounging in the fields of Lothal. 

The Kel Door maste removed forward slowly and quietly, careful not to disturb the peaceful moment that Master Kenobi had cultivated for himself. Slowly, he edged close enough to sit down in front of Obi-Wan, settling into a similar position. Without him even having to say anything, Obi-Wan’s eyes flickered open and met Plo’s through his goggles. “So,” the human started. “How did it go?”

“He was found guilty, even admitted to it, but that truly was no surprise. We had every piece of evidence stacked against him, even if he had decided to fight.” 

“I do hope you all weren’t too harsh with his punishment. He doesn’t need anymore pain, not now. Not-well-not ever really.”

Plo sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. This man before him was too kind. Yes, it was a Jedi ideal to be compassionate, you had to be to live the lives they lead. But the way this man in front of him gave his everything, and even when that was thrown back at him, he didn’t flinch. Didn’t complain. Actively stood up for the person who had hurt him. 

It didn’t make sense to Plo. His need for justice, of some way shape or form demanded that no sentient walks free from a crime they willfully committed. Don’t get him wrong, it wasn’t revenge he sought. It was justice, the need to right the wrong. Not eye for an eye. But to do right by the people who couldn’t defend themselves or seek their own justice. 

“Do not worry, Obi-Wan. We were really quite easy on him. Three months of probation, that same amount of time in kitchen, and twice a week meditations with Councillors. Along with a sincere apology to you.”

At the last one Obi-Wan jerked. His eyes snapped to Plo’s, a shock swirling in their depths. “I came here to give you a heads up, and once you’re ready, I will contact Mace.”

After a few moments of spluttering, Obi-Wan finally managed to get out a semi-coherent thought. “He doesn’t need to-Plo-no I understand why it happened he just-he needs time-better training-someone just needs to help guide him. An apology is totally unnecessary!” 

“An apology is absolutely necessary. And you will sit there, listen to it, and accept that it needs to happen. Because he,” Plo reaches out and takes Obi-Wan’s hand. The human shrinks away slightly, but his hand immediately holds on as though he never wants to let go. “Wronged you. What he did was terrible and disgusting. You practically raised that boy, you stood up for him when no one else would. He owes you everything. What he did to you is unacceptable, so yes. An apology is required.”

Obi-Wan absorbed that for a few moments. Reflected on it. And on Plo’s vehemence for him. He had such good friends, better friends than he truly deserved in all honesty. He was so lucky to have them, even if he didn’t agree with them. But he would for Plo’s peace of mind. “I have on either question for you, before we bring him in,” Plo stated.

“Alright, shoot.”

“Has Anakin ever exhibited similar behaviours before? Lashing out in anger, physically, psychically, anyway at all?”

“No! Of course he hasn’t! Sure, we’ve had some yelling matches, but those were even, I was yelling just as loud. He’s never-never hurt me before!”

“It’s alright, Obi-Wan,” Plo soothed. “We just had to double check. Make sure this is new. Or else, he would be far beyond our reach.”

“I know that.”  _ I wasn’t that useless as a master that they would believe me incapable of raising at least a  _ decent _ person. Was I? _

“Are you ready then?”

“Yeah. Bring him in.”

-+-+-+-

The walk over was weird, a bit awkward with Mace and Yoda behind him, trapping him. He felt like a prisoner being led to the gallows. Which was ridiculous. 

“How much Obi-Wan has done for you, know, do you, Skywalker?” Yoda suddenly asked from over Mace’s shoulder. “To be his replacement, you were, as Qui-Gon Jinn’s apprentice. Only reason that you became Obi-Wan’s apprentice, Master Jinn’s death was. Grateful, you should be, toward Master Kenobi. Young he was, too young, for an apprentice, but, succeeded he did, in training you. Bring shame upon his training, you have, with your actions.”

Anakin nodded slowly, horror curdling in his stomach as they stopped at Plo Koon’s door. He only barely remembered the different Council meetings he had been in before becoming a Padawan, they all kind of blended into one. He did vaguely remember Qui-Gon attempting to claim him as his apprentice, but he had never thought much more on it. But if Obi-Wan  _ was _ still Qui-Gon’s Padawan, then yes, Anakin would have seemed like a replacement. And knowing Obi-Wan, he would believe himself as a failure because of that. And from what Anakin had heard and seen in the Archives, they had a pretty tumultuous start. Anakin appearing and Qui-Gon attempting to claim him would have reopened those old wounds, then proceeded to rub salt in them. 

Force, how had Obi-Wan trained him so well? He should have hated the nine-year-old, not poured all of himself into training him. 

For Qui-Gon to claim him, he would have had to renounce Obi-Wan as his Padawan. 

And they all wondered where Obi-Wan’s self worth issues came from. It was right in front of them!

Mace’s comm beeped again, signalling for them to enter. 

Skywalker walked in with Windu behind him, Yoda upon the Korun master’s back. The Knight’s head hung low, eyes downcast and dull, shame settled upon his shoulders, and some other swirling mess of… was that guilt? Obi-Wan stood next to Plo Koon, backs to the window that overlooked Coruscant. The golden light of the day seemed to outline them, making each seem ethereal in their own right, though the way the gold glinted off Obi-Wan’s fiery hair and brightened his sky blue eyes made him seem even more unworldly than the Kel Door at his side. 

Mace crouched down, allowing Yoda to clamber off his back and also step up beside Skywalker. The aforementioned Knight took another step forward and raised his head to finally lay eyes on his former master. The bruising was all gone, but the guilt laying on his shoulders was felt by every Jedi in the room, though none of them betrayed that knowledge. His master’s eyes also seemed slightly dimmer, less vibrant, than usual.

Yet he looked healthy. Healthier than he had in a long time, since Anakin met him probably. For once he wasn’t running his body and mind into the ground. He was meditating, eating and sleeping regularly. Plo had taken good care of him over the week. Sure, he wasn’t at the weight he should be of a human his height, but his eyes weren’t ringed in shadows from exhaustion, his shoulders weren’t slightly slumped to the trained eye, his hands weren’t shaking at his side. 

So yes, he definitely looked better, though he could definitely continue to get healthier.

“Master…”

“No.” Anakin immediately shuts up, afraid he misjudged the situation, misread the room. Was Obi-Wan meant to speak first? He had never really done this, and never so formally. “Don’t- just Obi-Wan. This is not student apologising to teacher, or to Council master.” The ginger stepped forward, allowing Anakin to get a better look at his face without it being so obstructed by sunlight. “This is a friend, admitting a wrong he did, and apologising for that to his friend.” His crystal blue eyes shimmered, seemed to glisten in the sun. “So, come sit down, let's forget all this formal nonsense.”

Yoda narrowed his eyes at the young master but compiled, walking around the couch before clambering up onto it, gimer stick still in hand and threatening to any shins that happened to wander by. Mace also followed the Grandmaster and sat next to him on the couch. Obi-Wan sat in the centre, Plo settling in beside him with Anakin on the end. 

“Obi-Wan, I am so, so sorry about what happened, what I did to you. I never want to hurt you, and what I did that night was disgusting. I unrightfully took out my anger on you when all you had done was try to help, and I should have seen that. I am a disgrace to your teachings, and I am deeply ashamed of my actions, and I deeply and truly regret that I hurt you in any way. You taught me everything I know about the Force, and I turned that against you. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but you need to know that I will never hurt you again. I was unfair and in the wrong, and I hurt you, and that isn’t right. So, yeah, I’m sorry.”

SIlence reigned over the apartment as all of them digested what had just been said. Doubts and guilt swirled around Obi-Wan’s mind, the rebuttals that had sprang up at Anakin’s words. But he accepted what Anakin had said, even if he had some reservations around some of the apology. 

“I do forgive you Anakin,” he said quietly, eyes refusing to meet Anakin’s. “Of course I do. It was a slip of control, nothing more, and I am sorry that I didn’t teach you better.”

“Obi-Wan,” Plo’s voice sounded like a scolding parent, brows drawn together. “This wasn’t your fault, Anakin is a grown man, he can control himself. You taught him everything he needed, he just needs to put it into practice.”

“Yea, Master. This isn’t on you at all, none of this has been your fault!” Came Anakin’s immediate response. “Obi-Wan, this is all on me. None of it is because of you, or aunty… perceived failings, or anything like that! This was  _ my _ wrongdoing, because of my own reactions to a situation. And I wrongly took that out on you, and I’m sorry.”

Obi-Wan nodded slowly, though his eyebrows stayed furrowed, still not raising his eyes to meet anyone else’s. Plo bristled, as though he was going to drag Anakin out by his ear for upsetting Obi-Wan. But the human reaches out and lays a hand on his colleague's knee. “He’s fine, settle down,” Obi-Wan says lowly, finally looking up to meet the Kel Door’s eyes, though it is through the goggles. 

Everyone was quiet for a few moments, but eventually, Yoda slid off the couch and looked Mace dead in the eyes. “Going, we should be, hmmm?”

Mace narrowed his eyes at the small troll before also standing and following him to the door. “Yes, we should be. Skywalker, a Councillor will com you over the next day to set up a meditation time.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Good. Good day to you all and may the Force be with you.”

The two masters left, the door whooshing closed behind them. An awkward silence settled over the three Jedi left in the room. That is, until Plo rose to his feet and started towards the kitchen. “Tea, anyone?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Yes, please Plo,” Obi-Wan sighed, sinking back into the couch, scrubbing his hands over his face. Anakin fidgeted, before also trying to settle back, though he kept his eyes on Obi-Wan. “Anakin, come here.” It was spoken from behind the hands still on his face, but they were removed so that Obi-Wan could lock onto Anakin’s eyes with his own, and the boy quickly scrambled to obey his former master. He moved over onto the same couch, but kept distance between them still.

Obi-Wan let out another sigh before sitting up properly, leaning over, and pulling Anakin straight into his chest. Immediately, the young Knight tensed, ready to defend himself, but slowly melted into the hug that Obi-Wan had dragged him into. “That was all rather unnecessary, wasn’t it?” Obi-Wan asked, a tinge of humour colouring his tone.

“It needed to be said. Even if the Council hadn’t asked it of me, I was always planning to apologise. What I did was wrong, it goes against everything you have taught me, and even everything I knew before the Jedi. I-”

“Shhhhh, it’s okay, you’re okay now.”

Anakin sprang up to sitting again, eyes wide and some unknown emotion swimming in them. “This isn’t about  _ me _ being okay. It’s about  _ you _ . I never asked,but  _ are _ you okay? I didn’t do any permanent damage, right?”

“No, a bit of bruising, that’s all.”

“Still, what about you. How are you feeling?”

That shuts the master up. In truth, that voice in his head had only started screaming louder and louder throughout Anakin’s apology, telling him everything that had lead to this, how much of it was OBi-Wan’s fault, how he would never be able to make up for what he has done to both Anakin and Ahsoka. How he has failed. 

But he puts a smile on and looks Anakin dead in the eyes. “Oh, I’m fine.”

-+-+-+-

The tea mug sits on the table, empty, save for the few drops that hold the little tea leaf bits. The curtains have once again been drawn in the living room, a certain sense of peace falling over the room with twilight. Plo looked over at Obi-Wan, his shoulders moving slowly with his deep breathing, disturbing the blanket with every movement. His lashes were fanned out against pale cheeks; the young master looked positively drained.

_ “That’s what happens when you let your body tear itself to shreds,”  _ his own mind whispers.  _ “We need to keep a closer eye on him.” _

“Yes, we do,” he rumbles aloud. There was no risk of waking Obi-Wan; even though the War had taught them all how to sleep light, and it was usually how a Jedi slept anyway-what with the constant threat that came with the job-Obi-Wan was knocked out cold. The other masters had left a few hours ago, and Anakin an hour later. There had been some well hidden tears from Obi-Wan that Plo had noticed, but other than that, the ginger hadn’t given Anakin any clue of the turmoil within his mind.

Even now, to the untrained eye, Obi-Wan seemed in complete balance. Resting, he looked younger. His forehead smoothed out as the worry faded away into the Force as he slept. His hands were curled up next to his face, clutching the blanket tight, giving the impression of a youngling in the creche. 

But Plo knew him better than that. He could see the near invisible line between his eyebrows, the way his eyes weren’t totally relaxed, how his knees were curled to allow for his feet to brace against the arm rest, ready to spring into action if he needed to. 

It spoke of what was happening inside the man’s head. 

Plo let out a sigh and rose to his feet, stepping toward the human. Slowly, he stroked his claws through the bedraggled hair. The Stewjon master didn’t even stir. 

He moved towards the table, picked up the tea, and rinsed it before going back to his chair, one of his own blankets in hand. He settles in, ready for sleep. 

And ready to face the next day.

It would take a long time for them to sort through Obi-Wan’s issues, if they even can. But they would try. And Plo could see many more tears in his future, and anger, and hurt, but he had hope. Hope that one day they would find this poor man some respite. Relief. Even peace.

And they would. No matter how long it took, no matter how hard it was. Plo was sure. Obi-Wan would live to see peace in the universe, and find peace in himself. Learn how to silence that voice in his mind that seemed so overwhelming. Learn to trust in those around him.

Plo was sure.

They would make Obi-Wan happy. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for all the amazing comments and support for this story. This got so much longer than it was ever intended to be, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. So yes, this is officially the ending. Hope it's fine, I got stuck in a few places, but overall I'm pretty happy with it. I was never going to be able to completely sort all of Obi-Wan's issues within the span of this story, and I hope no one was expecting that, but I thought this brought some good closure all things considered. So yeah, hope you enjoyed :)


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